Chapter Text
It was a Tuesday afternoon and particularly quiet as Hanzo Shimada perched on his stool behind the counter of Hanamura Fine Teas, only paying partial attention to the magazine he was reading. Or rather, looked like he was reading. His mind was elsewhere in that unfocused sort of way that happened sometimes, where if anyone had asked him what he was thinking about, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them.
While he enjoyed his peace and quiet -- something that his move to San Francisco last year had allowed him to have for the first time in his life -- there was a such thing as too peaceful and too quiet.
The door chimed and Hanzo looked up, first glad for the distraction and then slightly startled as a dog walked into his shop. It took him a full three seconds to register the service vest it was wearing, and he immediately quashed the initial protests that had attempted to make its way to his mouth, eyes flicking over from the vest to the pair of cowboy boots that had followed the dog in, traveling past some sort of western wear to a ruggedly handsome face that suddenly had all of his attention.
The man looked slightly careworn, eyes bearing both laugh lines and the sort of dark circles underneath that indicated habitual poor sleep, and he glanced about the shop with curious trepidation, hovering in the entryway as if he weren't sure how to proceed. Hanzo mentally kicked himself to go greet him, sliding out from behind the counter and walking toward the door.
"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" He stopped short, careful to give the man and his dog several feet of space. An instant of panic followed by relief briefly washed over the man's face as he turned his head toward Hanzo.
"Well howdy," he answered, stepping a little further inside with a warm smile that seemed to light up his whole face, his dog walking just slightly ahead of him. "I'm, uhhhh, lookin' for a present for someone. She likes tea, an' I saw your shop, but I don't know anything about ..." He trailed off almost apologetically as he waved a prosthetic hand in the general direction of the shelves full of meticulously labeled sample canisters in a helpless sort of gesture.
Hanzo chose to ignore the way the man's smoky drawl made the back of his neck heat up and he nodded, stepping aside to gesture further into the shop. "I'll be happy to help you choose something for your friend. Would you like to browse the samples for something that smells appealing to you, or would you rather sit down and tell me a bit about your friend so we can explore some options together?"
"Wouldn't know what I was lookin' for if I was browsin', darlin'." He transferred the dog’s lead to his prosthetic hand and held his right out for Hanzo to shake, full lips widening once more into a sunny smile. “Name's Jesse, by the way, and this little lady is Oakley." The proffered hand was warm and his handshake firm, lingering perhaps a bit unnecessarily. Hanzo didn't miss the way the cowboy's warm topaz eyes flicked over him before their hands parted.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jesse. My name is Hanzo." He gestured again toward the seating area and definitely did not check out his guest’s backside as he sauntered to the lone table, the sound of his boots heavy against the granite flooring.
“‘S good t’meet you too.” Jesse sat with his back to the wall, Oakley positioning herself to face the door before laying at his feet. His fingers twitched where they rested on the table. “How about we have a little chat about it an' you can give me your expert opinion?"
Hanzo pulled out a seat of his own, angling it so that he would be able to respond easily in the unlikely event someone else entered the shop. He leaned forward on his elbows once he had sat down, threading his fingers together. "Excellent. Tell me about your friend, then. Do you know what she likes, or what she usually drinks?"
Puffing out his cheeks in thought before exhaling heavily, Jesse stroked his beard -- not quite scruffy in a charming sort of way -- as he, too, leaned in, putting his weight on his prosthetic elbow. It felt almost intimate.
"Mostly she just drinks what her ma makes. Some kind of Egyptian blend? She told me it's traditional, but all I know's it's strong. Maybe a little spicy, like cinnamon and other stuff? And real sweet?"
"Mmmhmm." Hanzo could listen to Jesse talk all day. "Did you want to get her something similar, or introduce her to something new?"
"Aw, she drinks that stuff all the time." Jesse stopped stroking his beard to wave his hand in front of his face as if to dismiss the very thought of trying to replicate her usual drink. "I was hoping you could recommend somethin'." Jesse ended the sentence with a grin and a wink, and Hanzo truly hoped the low lighting hid the fact that the flush at the back of his neck had probably crept onto his cheeks.
"I see." He swallowed hard, steepled his fingers in front of his face as though they would provide some sort of camouflage, and narrowed his eyes in thought, trying not to look like he was staring at Jesse as he did so.
"Not a traditional chai," he said slowly after a moment, still thinking. "If it tastes like cinnamon, it would most likely be an herbal blend in Egypt, so better to pick another common tea ingredient there - maybe ginger - and run with it. Pair it with some complimentary things less common to the region." He could see Jesse bobbing his head as he spoke with the look of a man trying to appear as though he were following along.
"Think you might have something like that on hand?" the other man coaxed hopefully after another moment of thoughtful silence.
"I don't." Jesse's face fell before Hanzo continued. "But I would be happy to custom blend it for you."
The smile that broke out on Jesse's face was a beam of sunshine in the dim shop, and Hanzo caught himself thinking that he'd be willing to do far more than just blend some tea if a smile like that was his reward.
"If you could, I'd be beholdin' to ya."
Hanzo returned the smile, although he knew that his could never match the other man's in radiance. "Nonsense, it's what I'm here for." He stood, then, and stepped behind the counter to pull out the various canisters he would need; a dark Assam tea for the base, candied ginger, cardamom pods ...
"Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?" he asked while perusing his stock to see whether he wanted to add anything else. Probably rock sugar. Sweetness was his main takeaway from the single time he had been served Egyptian tea, and Jesse had said that his friend drank hers 'real sweet'.
"Naw, I'm good, thanks. But I wouldn't say no to a bit of water for Oakley."
Of course. The dog. Hanzo glanced down at her, sitting patiently at Jesse's feet. She was so well-behaved and he was so clearly distracted by her owner's southern charm that he had quite honestly forgotten she was there.
"Give me a moment to fetch a bowl." Not waiting for a reply, Hanzo sidestepped through the curtain into the back room to get one of his smaller blending bowls and paused to take a few deep breaths before he stepped back out to fill it with cool water.
"Thanks kindly. Don't mean to put you out none," Jesse said as Hanzo passed him the water to put in front of his dog, who stood up politely to take a drink. "There you go, little lady."
"It's no trouble," Hanzo replied, washing his hands and pulling out the box of coarse rock sugar. "How much tea would you like?"
Jesse transferred his gaze from Oakley to Hanzo, looking for all the world like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Floundering for something to say, he leaned back in his chair, crossing his ankle over his knee and drumming a beat on the table with restless fingers, his brow furrowed slightly. "Uh, how much is the regular amount?"
It occurred to Hanzo that if Jesse had ever bought tea in his life, it was probably a box of teabags from the supermarket. What had put the idea in his head to visit a high end tea shop to buy a custom blended loose leaf as a gift was a mystery, but Hanzo was not complaining. He leaned over the counter on his forearms.
"Well, I sell it in bags that can hold up to three ounces, or as a five ounce gift tin," he explained, reaching a bit to indicate the sample packages at the end of the counter next to the tiny bakery case. "I also have the one ounce sample tin, although that might be small for a gift, and a ten ounce canister, which seems a bit excessive here. An ounce makes about 12 cups of tea," he added. "Although it can vary a bit with the blend and how you prefer to brew it."
Jesse made a low whistle, head bobbing a bit as he mulled it over. "Well, you said the gift tin was five, so that seems about right. Yeah. That."
"That sounds excellent. If she really enjoys it, you can always come back and I can make you some more."
At the other man's enthusiastic nod, Hanzo pushed off the counter and started measuring tea into a clean mixing tin with a little smile, finally concentrating more on the work than his customer as he pondered ratios and contemplated ingredients. Cloves. A small amount of clove would go well with cardamom and ginger and add an extra layer of spice, as long as he didn't overdo it. It was easy to do with cloves; they had a tendency to overpower other flavors.
Hanzo let himself glance at Jesse every so often while he worked. His customer was watching him intently, although whether it was with curiosity or something else, Hanzo couldn't be sure. Every now and then, Jesse's eyes flicked to the front door, but Oakley was still watching it diligently and his posture remained relaxed. At one point, Jesse cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck when Hanzo had caught him watching, his gaze likely only shifting elsewhere while Hanzo’s eyes were upon him.
It wasn't too long before Hanzo had finished. He brewed two cups of the new blend, setting one down in front of Jesse and then settling back in his own seat. Jesse threw him a questioning look.
"For me to know how it tastes before it leaves my shop, and for you to know what you're buying and judge whether it's what you wanted." Hanzo raised the steaming cup to his lips, inhaling the spicy aroma before taking a tentative sip. "Careful, it's quite hot."
"Well thank ya' kindly, darlin'." Jesse raised his cup as in a toast, brought it to his face to sniff experimentally, and took a generous gulp of the scalding beverage.
Hanzo started, expecting a yelp, or a cough, or a something in response to the heat, but it never came. He stared at Jesse, eyes wide, his own cup hovering just below his chin in the middle of an aborted move to drink from it.
"That's mighty nice," Jesse drawled, clicking his tongue once as he looked into the cup. "Mighty nice indeed. Told ya' I'm a coffee man m'self, but this has a good kick to it. 'Ree'll like this a lot."
Hanzo cleared his throat, the shock falling from his features. "I'm glad to hear it. I take it you don't allow your coffee to cool, either," he added mildly, finally finishing raising his cup to sip gingerly at it. Jesse might enjoy burning his tongue, but he did not.
"That I don't." Jesse's eyes crinkled in a grin that Hanzo couldn't quite see around his mug before taking another drink. "'s just not right if it's not pipin' hot."
"It is a wonder you still have taste buds." Hanzo gave a wry chuckle.
They finished their drinks while making small talk -- how long the shop had been open; yes, Hanzo had painted all of the wall scrolls himself; the fact Jesse worked at a hobby shop nearby; Oakley was an Australian Shepherd mix -- as Jesse seeming to be in zero hurry to pay for his purchase and be on his way. Hanzo was in zero hurry to ring up his purchase and send him on his way, so this worked out nicely. Eventually, though, he stood and collected the long-empty mugs, setting them behind the counter to be washed later.
"Can I get you anything else?" he asked, his gaze on Jesse hopeful as he measured the tea into the gift tin, named the blend on impulse, and printed out the label for it. What was the etiquette in this situation? Would it be strange for him to ask the man out to have coffee? Or something? They had just had tea … could he just ask for Jesse’s number or would that be weird? Could he be forward enough to do so?.
Jesse had stood and come to lean on the counter. He chewed on his lip as his eyes met Hanzo's, looking for a moment like he wanted to say something. In the end, he cleared his throat and suddenly found the bonsai next to the register very interesting indeed.
"Naw," he said quietly, eyes flicking up once and then back to the tree with a little huff and a shy smile. "Thanks."
Hanzo tried to keep his disappointment from showing as he rang up the tin of tea and gently placed it into a gift bag. He wondered whether Jesse had been having the same moment of panic as himself. Their fingers brushed when Jesse handed over his credit card, and again when Hanzo returned it. The touch lingered as he held the gift bag out to Jesse and he took it, both of them looking at their hands for a couple of beats as neither Hanzo moved to let go nor Jesse moved to pull away.
Hanzo gave a little cough as he looked up to catch Jesse's gaze, finally withdrawing his hand.
"Make sure you come see me again, even if it's just to tell me how your friend liked her tea."
Jesse's face brightened as he drew the bag across the counter. "I'll be sure to do that, darlin'. Thanks a bunch."
Hanzo watched him and Oakley go, heaving a sigh once the door had closed behind them and he could no longer see them through the picture windows.
At least now he had something to think about on an otherwise dull Tuesday, his mind already wandering to that husky drawl and sunshine smile as he cleaned up.